We all have big dreams.  Especially whne we are young.  Dreams of success; dreams of happiness; dreams of true log...  Right!?

Often, however, I find that even though we have these dreams, how many of us really believe they will come true?  That you'll actually realize that success, be happy or find that true love?

We tend to expect a bag of coal.  Or, even at Christmas, when we are give a present with shinny wrapping and a beautiful bow...  it has promises of being the perfect gift..  Yet, when we open the present, we find it is a pair of socks, or new underwear.  So, we start believing that we'll never get that perfect gift...

Let me tell you of the story of a teenage girl named Ruth.  She got married to a man who was the sone of a women named Naomi.  Well it happend that Naomi's husband and two sons were killed.  Ruth's hustband was one of these two sons.  Everything they had was lost.  Yet, Ruth decides to stay with her mother-in-law and take care of her in her grieving.  She went back to Naomi's home town with Naomi. Ruth was committed to supporting her mother-in-law.  She said that Naomi's people will be her people, Naomi's land will be her land and that Naomi's God will be her God.  She was 100% devoted to her conviction to take care of Naomi.  Since they had no money... they had no food.  And it came where something had to be done so they didn't starve.  Ruth decided that she was going to do something about it.  She didn't wallow in the tragedy of the situation; she stood behind her conviction.  She went to some farmers and asked if she could follow behind the harvesters and pick from what was missed by the harvesters so that they would have something to eat.

As it was, the farm of a man named Boaz gave her permission.  So, Ruth worked form sun up to sun down every day to get food for she and Naomi.  Boaz came home one day and aske who this foreign women was.  His servents said that it was Ruth, daughter in law of Naomi.  Well Boaz, a cousin of Naomi's husband, had heard about Ruth's dedication to Naomi and how hard she had been working. He was impressed with her faith and her conviction.  That she thought not of herself but of her mother-in-law.  So Boaz took her into his household and said that he would take care of her and Naomi.

Here are the lessons in this story:

• - don't wallow in your tragedy.
• - Don't expect a bag of coal.
• - Adopt a conviction to succeed.
• - It takes action